1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the manufacture of frame for filters. More particularly it relates to frames for air filters of the type normally used in forced-air heating systems, air conditioning systems and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to the apparatus for constructing rectangular frames for use with air filters used to remove impurities from a moving stream of air.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the field of air cleaning, generally, it is common to use disposable filters which comprise a filter mat and a frame. Often these frames are manufactured by an assembly-line manual cutting technique. Automation for combining the filter material with pre-formed blanks is known, such as shown on U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,067 issued to Alton Evans, Jr., however, a method for constructing the filter frame to meet specific size requirements is not disclosed therein. A method and apparatus is therefore needed to form frames of a custom size for each particular application.
The same shortfall in the art can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 2,161,831 issued to F. Manning where a metallic frame closes a filter unit of a channel configuration. Yet the automated pre-cutting to a particular and variable size is lacking in this disclosure.
The preformed material shape for a filter frame is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,393,419 issued to O. H. Schaff; however, no mechanized automated method for forming this shape is disclosed.
The field, therefore, is in need of an automated frame forming apparatus and method to provide the frame shape required to construct a frame for filter material.
There is a further need in the art to provide a method and apparatus which will manufacture a frame of a given size in a given amount with minimum waste of raw materials.
It is therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method to construct the filter frame long needed in the art.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide the air filter industry and field of art a filter frame-forming device which is easy to set-up, operate and maintain while providing versatility to a wide range of filter sizes and for filters of various thicknesses.
It is a further object of the inventor to provide an apparatus and method for forming frames for filters directly from a mill roll of raw materials such as chipboard or the like, to allow construction of a small amount to a large amount of filter frames with ease, efficiency and minimum material waste.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a device with complete safety protection to the operator, automated jam control, minimal day-to-day maintenance and quickly replaceable parts.
These and other objects of the invention will become clear upon review of the summary of the invention, drawings and description which follow.